How to Be Less Nervous When Teaching : 10 Strategies to Relieve your Teaching Anxiety
Do you want to reduce teacher anxiety? Then keep reading this blog post – I’m going to share 10 strategies that can show you how to be less nervous when teaching!
With less worry on your plate, you can focus on the real goal: helping students thrive in the classroom.
Table of Contents
- Teacher Responsibilities
- What Causes Anxiety for Teachers?
- Is it Normal for Teachers to Have Teacher Anxiety Disorders?
- How to Deal with Teaching Anxiety: 10 Possible Solutions
- Know the Anxiety Disorder Triggers in You
- A Good Teacher Sets Work Boundaries
- Prepare The Entire School Year and Plan your Projects Ahead
- Change up your Classroom Activities and Enhance your Lesson
- Exercise Mindfulness and Nurture your Mental Health
- Find Pursuits Outside School: Have a Strong Personal Life
- Practice Self-Care and Self-Love
- Seek Companionship and Inspiration – Talk about Feeling Anxious
- Try Therapy and Ask for Professional Help
- Try and Find Strategies that Work For You
- Conclusion
Teacher Responsibilities
As a teacher, it’s an ongoing multitask to keep up with lesson plans and grading student assignments. Not only that, creating positive relationships with your students and their parents requires additional effort, both emotionally and mentally.
Often times there comes the classic struggle of trying to merge these responsibilities while finding yourself caught hopping from one commitment to another during the day. It’s completely normal – but not necessary – to feel overwhelmed by all the tasks teachers face every day.
What Causes Anxiety for Teachers?
There are several factors that can contribute to teacher anxiety, including:
- Classroom management: Feeling overwhelmed or unprepared to cope with student behavior and maintain a positive learning environment.
- High workload: Having too many responsibilities, such as grading papers, preparing lesson plans, attending meetings, and dealing with administrative tasks.
- Pressure to perform: Feeling pressure to meet academic standards, improve test scores or meet other performance expectations.
- Lack of support: Feeling isolated or unsupported by colleagues or school administrators.
- Student needs: Struggling to meet the diverse needs of each student with different learning styles, abilities or backgrounds.
- Personal issues: Dealing with personal issues such as health problems, financial stressors, relationship difficulties or other life events that can affect job performance.
- Technology challenges: Struggling with technology in the classroom can be an additional source of stress for teachers who may not feel comfortable using it effectively.
It’s important for teachers to recognize these potential sources of anxiety so they can take steps to address them and improve their overall well-being in the classroom.
Is it Normal for Teachers to Have Teacher Anxiety Disorders?
Yes, it is normal for educators to experience teacher anxiety. Teaching can be a demanding and stressful profession, and it’s common for teachers to worry about their performance, workload, and other aspects of their job. In fact, according to a study by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), 61% of teachers reported feeling stressed at work most or all of the time.
So, if you are feeling anxious with your teaching job, don’t blame yourself; it happens to a lot of teachers, especially during the first five years of teaching.
Realize that there are a lot of things you can do about it! You are not alone in teacher anxiety; there are many resources available to reduce stress and improve your well-being.
Seeking support from colleagues, school administrators or a mental health professional can be helpful in reducing anxiety and improving job satisfaction.
How to Deal with Teaching Anxiety: 10 Possible Solutions
1
Know the Anxiety Disorder Triggers in You
Does a large class size put too much pressure on you? How do you handle teaching small groups? Is it relationships or material more daunting when considering going school?
Before tackling your apprehensions that make it hard for you to attend classes, let’s uncover the most common ones I have heard from teachers over time.
Identify what specific anxieties are impeding your ability to succeed in classroom settings and take steps towards overcoming them.
As a teacher, some typical causes of anxiety include:
- fear of failure,
- fear of being judged harshly,
- concern about not meeting expectations,
- worry that you won’t be able to maintain discipline in the classroom
- and anxiety regarding your workload.
Teachers often feel anxious especially in the classroom due to a variety of potential triggers, such as:
- fear of being unable to control the environment,
- concern that they won’t be able to make meaningful connections with students,
- or dread at not knowing how to manage challenging moments.
When a problem arises, the first step is to recognize it. Once this has been done, what seemed daunting and unsolvable suddenly seems much more manageable. Don’t be afraid to talk about your troubles with fellow teachers; you may even find a helping hand or advice from those who have gone through similar situations in the past.
2
A Good Teacher Sets Work Boundaries
As a teacher with loads of work and responsibilities, it is easy to fall into the trap of working nonstop. However, this can lead to fatigue and burnout which only exacerbates your anxiety.
To combat this, set work boundaries that don’t allow you to overwork yourself and find a healthy balance between your personal and professional life.
Setting boundaries for yourself, that means setting limits and sticking to them, will help you maintain your sanity as a teacher. Such limits could include:
- Setting clear expectations for the school class: every student, from elementary to college-level, should be aware of their roles and responsibilities in order to excel and meet the expectations set for them.
- Establishing a consistent routine: establish a daily routine that allows you to manage your workload and still have time for yourself.
- Taking regular breaks: make sure you take a few moments throughout the day to relax and recharge.
- Setting realistic goals: set realistic goals for yourself and your class that allow you to stay organized and on track.
- Delegating tasks: delegate tasks to others if possible, in order to take some of the pressure off yourself.
3
Prepare The Entire School Year and Plan your Projects Ahead
Across school districts and grade levels, teachers often face the same challenge – anxiety in their job. How can they prepare and plan ahead in order to reduce it? It’s simple: start planning now!
Creating a plan for a school unit in advance or mapping out the whole school year helps tremendously when it comes to reducing anxiety as a teacher. The key is consistency – make sure to set aside time to plan each week, whether it be on Friday or Thursday. To avoid any stress, be sure to plan your lessons for the week before Sunday night.
Structured planning that fractures large projects into smaller parts had been a game-changer for me as a first year teacher – and I highly recommend it; it’s not just an avenue to diminish the apprehension of tackling something big, but also allows you to concentrate on small goals which are more attainable and give yourself the chance to experience success.
Commitment to staying at school until plans for next week are complete will give you an enormous sense of comfort as you head into your classes. Planning ahead and having structure makes teaching more enjoyable, less stressful, and helps eliminate the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Also read: 160+ Teacher Quotes to Demystify the Power of Teaching
4
Change up your Classroom Activities and Enhance your Lesson
Working at school, it can be easy to get stuck in a routine— doing the same activities, teaching the same lessons, and carrying out the same tasks with your students day after day. But it’s important to remember that trying out new classroom activities can make a big difference when it comes to teacher stress relief.
By introducing fresh activities into your lesson plans, you’ll not only be helping to reduce your own anxiety levels, but your entire class will benefit too! Recent studies have even shown that the majority of students respond positively to change and enjoy being exposed to different types of learning.
So why not create some fun games or exercises and make sure that everyone is engaged in the learning process? Your students will thank you for providing engaging activities and you’ll find your confidence skyrockets when you introduce something new!
5
Exercise Mindfulness and Nurture your Mental Health
Mindfulness is a powerful way to refocus your attention and strengthens sustained concentration. The simple act of being mindful can help teachers tremendously; from allowing presence in each moment, to harvesting energy from the Positive Self to engage better with students. This can help reduce the pressure of teaching you experience on a daily basis.
For example, why not take even just a few minutes out of your day to practice mindfulness? There are various options such as meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, or simply trying to clear your mind of all distractions or worries.
It doesn’t matter if you have never done this before! You’ll discover how calming it can be and your comfort zone will extend with time. All it really takes is a bit of dedication.
Also read: Best 162 Mental Health Quotes to Support our Stability
6
Find Pursuits Outside School: Have a Strong Personal Life
One of the best ways for a school educator to reduce anxiety during the school year is to find pursuits outside school. This can help you take your mind off of school-related stresses and worries, allowing you to maintain your mental health and physical well-being as well.
There are many activities to take part in; take on a new hobby, attend art or music classes, join choirs, book clubs, or just go out and meet new people.
If you’re feeling especially brave, plan trips – locally-oriented visits to theaters or a school excursion will add some much-needed variety and stimulation into your everyday routine.
Taking advantage of such pursuits is essential if you want to stay healthy and manage teacher anxiety effectively!
7
Practice Self-Care and Self-Love
Teaching isn’t easy; it’s mentally and emotionally taxing, especially during an already difficult school year. Taking the time to practice self care is the key foundation for an happy educational environment. Once you reduce stress, teaching can be done most effectively for both you and your students.
There are several techniques one could use to practice self care, such as taking regular breaks throughout the day, scheduling in enjoyable activities or hobbies into each day, and spending time with trusted friends or family and getting support from them when feeling overwhelmed.
Through simple activities like breathing and yoga, teachers can find psychological solace. In fact, one study found that those enrolled in stress-management courses had improved mental health outcomes.
Building a solid practice of self care into daily life allows teachers to stay steady on their feet while they navigate through some of the toughest situations they will face throughout the entire school year. In other words, take care of yourself first so that you can better take care of something else.
Also read: Don’t Forget To Love Yourself : 149 Self Love Quotes
8
Seek Companionship and Inspiration – Talk about Feeling Anxious
Being a teacher can be a stressful job and many teachers are not equipped to handle the strain it puts on their mental health. In order to reduce teacher stress, seeking support and companionship from other teachers is essential.
Reaching out to your fellow teacher can provide an outlet for you to express your concerns and anxieties as well as gain important perspectives from other knowledgeable professionals who understand the struggles of being in in the education industry.
By sharing your experiences with colleagues, you can draw inspiration from one another and find comfort in knowing that there are many like you who are facing similar challenges.
9
Try Therapy and Ask for Professional Help
Being an educator can be incredibly intimidating and often comes with stressful moments. It’s natural to feel anxious about your work as an educator. Thankfully, there are many types of therapies that can help you reduce stress and manage your teaching anxiety.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a key approach to managing anxiety, is extremely effective on helping teachers recognize and dispute negative thought patterns. Alternatively, positive patterns of thinking can be reinforced, thus leading to improved capacities to confront anxiety.
Simply recognize anxiety triggers and learn how to acknowledge them. Just don’t allow them to take over! That’s essential for teachers seeking long-term solutions to feeling anxious.
By breaking down difficult emotions into manageable chunks, cognitive behavioral therapy can empower educators to create new understandings of themselves and their environment; You will not only cure your current anxiety; you will gain helpful coping strategies for dealing with troublesome circumstances in the future.
By understanding the root causes of feeling overwhelmed, you are able to address them fully and be more confident in the classroom.
1
0
Try and Find Strategies that Work For You
Everyone has a unique approach to tackling stress and anxiety; what proves to be helpful for one person may not be best suited for the next.
We all know that teaching is an inherently demanding job. It’s can be even more stressful for teachers with any pre-existing form of social anxiety. Unresolved teacher anxiety could lead to a broader generalized anxiety disorder if left untreated; the situation could become worse without proper care and intervention.
Learning to identify strategies that align with your personal needs is an essential part of well-being. Therefore, it’s important to discover simple, yet effective methods for calming down your body and mind.
You have to discover the ideal combination of all stress-relieving techniques for best results. To begin, simply incorporate these methods into your professional life; soon enough, you will identify which practices are most beneficial to you specifically.
Importantly, maturing smart calming strategies allows you to approach life stressors with more resilience and clarity of mind than ever before.
Keeping positive thoughts at the forefront can help reduce worry, too – remember: having anxious feelings doesn’t make you weak or crazy, it makes you human!
Conclusion
Through self-care and companionship, therapy and finding strategies that work for you – it is possible to manage teacher anxiety.
By following these 10 strategies and focusing on your mental health, teachers can find the motivation they need to keep doing what they love – teaching!
Stay positive and rest assured that you are not alone in the fight against teacher anxiety. With a determination and right set of tools, it is possible to overcome any challenge that comes your way.
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